He sued over unpaid shifts and a sacking - then couldn't plead it clearly
A mining worker's Fair Work claim collapsed - not over the facts, but because he never pleaded it clearly enough.
On May 26, 2026, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia struck out Geofrey Taiki's claim against Pilbara Iron Company Services (PICS) and dismissed the whole proceeding.
Taiki worked as a mobile plant operator on a fly-in fly-out roster. PICS terminated him on September 23, 2022. He sued under the Fair Work Act's general protections regime, arguing the company took "adverse action" against him because he raised complaints about his pay - a breach, he said, of section 340.
The dispute started over money. Taiki says he worked eight extra shifts during the first Covid lockdown in Western Australia and was never properly paid, receiving only a $3,000 ex gratia payment that went to every employee. He contrasted that with later lockdowns, where, he says, staff working extra shifts got $1,500 per shift under a June 2021 agreement. He also alleged the company "discriminated" against him and "coerced" him into signing a written warning. Those were his allegations, set out in his filing.
The case did not turn on whether any of that was true. It turned on whether Taiki had pleaded his claim clearly enough for PICS to respond.
Judge Ladhams found he had not. The statement of claim ran to 192 paragraphs, blended pleadings with evidence and argument, and repeated itself. The judge agreed...
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